Nobel Peace Prize

On 10 August 1976, the British Army shot dead a member of the IRA who was driving a car, resulting in a crash that killed three children from the Maguire family.

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Black and white photograph of woman giving a speech

Mairéad Corrigan, the children’s aunt, and Betty Williams, a witness to the incident, were leading figures in the peace movement that followed and were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to promote reconciliation in Northern Ireland.  

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Photograph of Mairead Corrigan, Betty and Ralph Williams, Senator Thompson and Lady Fisher taken outside in a residential street.
Photograph of Mairead Corrigan, Betty and Ralph Williams, Senator Thompson and Lady Fisher taken outside in a residential street. BELUM.W2015.118.34.2

Máiread Corrigan and Betty Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December 1977 at the Oslo City Hall in Norway.  They went on to play an active role in promoting peace throughout the world. As founders of the Nobel Women’s Initiative in 2006, they strove for women’s rights, peace, education and inter-cultural and inter-faith understanding.